Our Mission Scriptures

Our Mission Scriptures:

"Oh, that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart . . . Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth." Alma 29:1-2 (Book of Mormon)

" . . . be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."1 Corinthians 15:58 (Bible)

Saturday, April 30, 2011

God Works in Marvelous Ways-Prepare to be a Winner in the War Between Good and Evil

Finally, [all of us] be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:10-18

" . . . and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen." Doctrine and Covenants 27:18 (15-18 similar to Ephesians).

I woke up this morning and let the scriptures fall open to any page. The verse above is what it opened upon. Why was this anything unusual for me today? It is how God answers prayers and guides us for what we need at particular times.

Perhaps, in order for people to understand what I'm trying to share, I'll recount some history of the past three days where I witnessed one more seemingly small miracle, which happen all the time for all of us and we don't always notice.

On the 28th, I received an e-mail from a special person connected to us from our last mission that was served with the military in Columbus, Georgia. A quote from this friend's e-mail follows below:

I came across Alma 43, and had to read since it is the introduction to one of the most powerful parables for addiction and overcoming our 'enemies' that I have so far found in the canons we study, as well as all the other places I have read outside our doctrine (i.e.: Buddhism, C.S. Lewis, James Allen, etc).

You are familiar with the story, Moroni is introduced as being a young, strong, new leader of the army of the Nephites. (vs 16) It is verse Alma 43:18 that first caught my attention; "And it came to pass that he met the Lamanites in the borders of Jershon, and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and with all manner of weapons of war."

Captain Moroni

It first caught my eye when I noticed before the word met which implies a confidence, or an upright demeanor. As with the Son's of Helaman who "walked uprightly before him," as well as D&;C 121:45 "then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of god." It shows the virtue of Moroni and the Nephites. So I asked myself how did they come by this virtue.

At first glance it would look as if their confidence came from all the weapons of war they were carrying, as a gun makes a man more confident in a struggle with another man or beast. But then I remembered that the enemy he was facing had weapons as well, so that could not be the key. I read the next couple verses, Alma 43:19-21, "And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing--- Now the army of Zerahemnahwas not prepared with any such thing; they had only their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked...therefore they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites..."

I realized that I had been frustrated with a self created insanity in addiction. I have been fighting and fighting, and each time assuming a (quite false) confidence which is evident by my failing to come out conqueror because of my supposed 'weapons' or knowledge/experience in the world/field of addiction; when all the while I have no preparatory armor. I am fighting naked, and it is no wonder I continue to be afraid and to often lose the battle. I also realized that the mere fact that I was reading scriptures at that moment was in itself preparation for the very war I was searching release from. What I have taken from these few verses is that in order to fight an effective war, preparations must be made, and eventually my armor will prove itself worthy in bringing me out conqueror. "

The next day, Elder Blain and I were meeting with a woman who is having serious problems understanding why she has had such a difficult life. She says she bolts and runs when she gets to feeling she doesn't belong in an area she is living, often ending up homeless. She has been praying for help. The answer she got to her prayers was, "Stand." I would guess Heavenly Father wants her to stop running from her past and to take root where she is so she can learn to grow spiritually and overcome the negativity of her thoughts. We were able to relate the story from above and tell her, "Don't stand naked."

It is true that the Lord answers prayers often through someone on earth. We are all potential instruments in His hands to bring about His righteous purposes to help every person to conquer his or her own personal temptations and win the war against evil.